


Behind The Scenes of "A Diseased Fancy"

by J_Baillier



Series: Hell Be At The Door [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Behind the Scenes, Family, Family Secrets, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Loss, Love, Lovecraftian Horror, M/M, Medical Conditions, Meta, Miscommunication, Mystery, Pining, Romance, Secrets, Sherlock's Past, Sick Sherlock, Supernatural Elements, Tragedy, author's notes, but requires no prior knowledge of his works, casefic, post-season 3, post-tab
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 06:44:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7303768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Baillier/pseuds/J_Baillier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Further author's notes on the novel-lenght story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind The Scenes of "A Diseased Fancy"

>   
>  _"It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive."_  
>  \- from "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft

  
  


It's time for an author's prerogative - exhaustive post-fic notes!

My dear, cherished reader who has made it this far: thank you for accompanying me on this journey through otherworld realms filled with doomsday cults, Metallica, misbehaving saints, radioactive-looking glowing mist, Mycroft Holmes spouting arcane knowledge, alien abduction pastiches, sentient mold, love's labours lost, endless Oxford lawns, Conan Doyle nods and echoes of the great Cthulhu stirring beneath the waves...  
I have loved horror and scifi since I was way too little to be reasonably allowed to indulge in it. Lovecraft I discovered in my late twenties, and fell in love with its Victorian doom and the delectably slowly developing horrorification of the mundane in his stories (I was less impressed with his racism and his general hatred of humanity but in that he was largely a product of those times...). I had read one or two Lovecraftian Sherlock fics, but they didn't quench my thirst for wanting to do one of my own. During the planning phase for this story I deliberately avoided rereading those fics or from seeking out similar pastiches done by professional authors (even Neil Gaiman has penned his own) in order to retain my own voice while combining the mythos of Lovecraft and his peer authors into my own imagination.

> _"All my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large."_  
>  — H.P. Lovecraft

  


Lovecraft is known for a 'verse' known as the Cthulhu mythos, but the name is misleading - there are many fantastic realms, creatures and gods living in this fictional universe parallel to ours, not just the one. Lovecraft also wasn't the only 19th century author to place his stories in this bleak universe filled with horrific creatures, Old Gods and knowledge-thirsty scholars going mad because they found exactly what they were looking for. This story borrows elements and inspiration not only from Lovecraft, but from the works of others inspired by the mythos he helped create - many inventions such as fictional books come from his horror-penning colleagues both contemporary and historical. There's also some lovely art in the Lovecraft boardgames such as Arkham Horror and Eldritch Horror (my favourite) which have helped a lot with visualizing things - my mental image of Nightgaunts comes from those games. What I most wanted to invoke was the thread running through the stories: the helpless desperation and the cosmic emptiness that defines this genre of horror.

This is not meant as a gateway drug to Lovecraft, nor is it aimed solely at those already familiar with classic gothic horror. I wanted this to stand alone, supported by time-tested elements of gothic terror and fantasy. I hope the end result doesn't leave readers too baffled by this strange marriage of urban legends, old literature, astronomy, Catholic saints and sentient mold and 21st century fandomy shipping. Next I'm going to tell you a little bit about the other influences I've allowed to seep into Fancy.

>   
>  _New blood joins this earth,_  
>  _And quickly he's subdued._  
>  _Through constant pained disgrace_  
>  _The young boy learns their rules._  
>  \- Metallica

  


I used some basic premises of The Adventure of The Gloria Scott from ACD canon - I had created some versions of Victor Trevor before, but they had been sidenotes instead of substantial supporting characters. Every hero needs a sidekick, which allows Victor to return and redeem himself (at least in his own eyes - certainly nobody was expecting him to offer to be devoured by some Outer God or whatever the hell that thing even was...).

Is he still alive on some cosmic plane, or did he effectively commit suicide? There's no way to know for certain. I see his fate as a revenge he wanted to exact on his father. Professor Trevor had wanted to keep his son away from the truth, to protect him, when Victor would have liked to have given the chance to decide these things for himself. Add to that the fact that his father was quite open about his opinion that Victor was, in many ways, inferior to Sherlock. Victor saw little hope for himself, having had his life messed up right from the start by his own weakness and his reprehensible father. Let us hope his sister Lavinia has managed to build a nicer life for herself from the ashes of that travesty of a family.

>   
>  _"Then maybe you remember something queer about it?"_  
>  \- Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"

  


As a bit of an atonement for Lovecraft's abominable attitudes towards some of his fellow humans, I used the plotline to some extent as a vehicle of discussing homophobia and family dynamics.

>   
>  _I'm petrified with fear in my own bed_  
>  _I don't know what to do_  
>  _What to do with you_  
>  \- Von Hertzen Brothers

  


I knew right from the start that John was going to take centre stage - this is often the case in my stories. Sherlock fit the Lovecraftian character mold of the scholar getting way over his head much better, plus John is exactly the sort of a swashbuckling hero that is found in the Lovecraft board games that I think fit the setup of the story.

Mycroft is absolutely perfect as a covert operative for a secret society. The one he belongs to, the _Order of The Silver Twilight_ , seeks to prevent the world being destroyed and to let humanity continue on its path, be that path one of destruction or not. Victor's father operates on the opposite side of the rift - he is part of an organization attempting to open interdimensional portals through which forces of chaos can get in; that organization, _The Esoteric Order of Dagon_ is thus willing to embrace an apocalypse. 

I had always wanted to do something related to aliens in this fandom, but no matter how much I tried, I never seemed to be able to come up with a storyline in which that premise could carry the whole narrative. The Lovecraft mythos (in which many beings come from other celestial locations) allowed me to take some typical, almost iconic concepts of UFO lore and integrate all of if into a unified theory of where these urban legends might come from. 

In modern times it's hard to fear ghosts and vampires since we live in the age of science, but as literature professor Terry Matheson has stated, tales of alien contact and abduction "are intrinsically absorbing; it is hard to imagine a more vivid description of human powerlessness." The night scene where John hears strange footsteps and the CCTV scene at the hospital are probably the best examples of how I've integrated pop culture's abduction lore into this tale. UFO episodes in _The X-files_ and a horror film called _The Fourth Kind_ have probably been the strongest influences on those scenes. 

Both Sherlock and John are exhibiting some classic sign of alien visitation: photosensitivity, blackouts, metallic taste in mouth and electronics misbehaving. In Lovecraft stories similar elements to the drawings John finds in Sherlock's room are found, but mostly what I had in mind when describing them are the drawings made by Roy Neary and other contactees in Spielberg's " _Close Encounters of The Third Kind_ ".

>   
>  _“Ultimate horror often paralyses memory in a merciful way.”_  
>  \- Lovecraft, "The Rats In The Walls"

  


Owls as a sort of a stand-in memory for aliens is a classic idea that features heavily in Whitley Strieber's book " _Communion_ ", among other prominent UFO works - I couldn't resist using that element here. The owl John encounters, however, is a real one in the context of the story, and in the end, the 'alien' visiting them is revealed to be a a Nightgaunt - a creature not many have even heard of and the origin of which is left unnamed. It's a harbinger, a guide that prepares someone seeking knowledge of the true nature of the universe for the harrowing experience of coming into contact which much more frightening cosmic horrors.

I have many favourite vampire AU stories in this fandom, and some bits in this story can be seen as a homage to those, and to classic vampire lore as well -. the Nightgaunt certainly behaves quite vampiristically, and I modeled many parts of Sherlock's illness after how victims of repeated vampire attacks have been described in fiction and folklore. 

Medical realism and medical H&C are my jam and my niche when writing for this fandom, so how could I resist throwing in a bit of that as well? It was very enjoyable to let go of the more stricter medical realism of my other angst works and have some fun with practically extinct illness tropes such as brain fever. The Nightingale Hospital is a real place in London, conveniently located in the same suburb as Baker Street (Marylebone).

In several of Lovecraft's stories impossible cities are discovered upon entering ancient pagan structures in abandoned buildings and inhospitable lands. Some parts of the subterranean (or otherworldly) places in the later chapters I modelled after the brilliantly kooky City Hall of Stockholm in Sweden. Some other parts were inspired by certain settings in the Mass Effect games. As for painting mental pictures for the Oxford scenes, I had the privilege of working with two fellow authors who have studied and lived there. They made sure I had my facts straight and that I could make good use of that gorgeous city.

>   
>  _“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.”_  
>  \- Neil Gaiman

  


Curiously enough, while Lovecraft is very much regarded as a classic example of gothic/Victorian horror, the major pillars of that genre - sex and death - are either absent or lurking only at the fringes of his works. Lovecraft is more about madness and memory than sentiment. In Lovecraft's stories, love and relationship are fleeting Earth constructs that pale in comparison to the cosmic forces raging beyond our comprehension. I wanted a different approach. I wanted that cosmic battle to rage within Sherlock's soul as well. I wanted to have the mythos with its arcane knowledge, strange artefacts, murder and mayhem, secret societies and madness-inducing visions, but also to have a more human tale of heartbreak and giving up on love because of past experiences and the fear of taking that final, vulnerable and frighteningly big step towards happiness. This is the one major aspect of this story that strongly differs from Lovecraft's tales - love.

Sherlock doesn't do anything by halves, so naturally his heartbreak would almost bring forth a cosmic apocalypse.

During the planning phase of Fancy I joked to a friend that I wanted John Watson to take on Azathoth and win. Well, maybe not Azathoth, because nobody can beat Azathoth, but still. I wanted a classic tale of someone driven to despair over lost love, and a hero willing to walk beyond the gates of hell to save their beloved. One could perhaps draw a parallel between the climax of the story to some classic fairytales. Sherlock is certainly the damsel in distress here, and John the everyman who has to dare to step up and wander into the realm of gods and magic to save him. The Soul Pact is a card in the Arkham Horror board game. When you use it, your sanity is restored to full. I like to think that the "Bind Soul" ritual from the Necronomicon combined with John initiating a similar pact with a kiss is what broke the supernatural hold over Sherlock.

The hardest part of planning this story was to create a plausible reason for Sherlock to abandon even John and seek this dangerous knowledge despite its dangers. Disappointments in love had made him sceptical of his own abilities to actually find happiness and to build a lasting relationship with someone, and John's hesitation when Sherlock plucks up the courage to make a crucial move is the final nail in the coffin - Sherlock thinks that now that he's being offered a chance to obtain that knowledge he was deprived of in his youth, he should seize it, since it's not like there's anything else in his life worth the effort. By the time John gets his head sorted out, Sherlock has fallen too deep under the influence of these cosmic chaos forces to fight back on his own.

>   
>  _“The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them. They walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen.”_  
>  \- Lovecraft

  


Where on Earth do Sherlock, Victor and John end up at the end of the story? I'll leave that up to the imagination of the reader. I can reveal that some have referred to it as the Great Hall of Celaeno, but as to its precise location we can only make guesses. The area outside the buildings could well also be the Plateau of Leng.

I hope you've enjoyed my johnlockcraft. Weaving this Yog-Sothothery has been a lot of fun!

If this thing had cinematic, rolling end credits, the song playing in the background would be  
Sarah Brightman's " _[No One Like You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGXc7vzVMq8)_ ".

  
  


_**FAQ** _

**Were there actually aliens?**  
Technically, many of the Lovecraftian life forms dwell and reign in outer space so yes, in a way, there probably were some alien lifeforms in this story. I like to think that in the alternate universe of this story alien abductions, UFOs, ghosts, vampires and the like are actually forces of the Lovecraftian mythos visiting humankind. Instead of truly understanding what they were, our feeble minds have merely been giving them more easily understandable forms that later were distorted by the passing of time into mythological clichees.

 **Where did Sherlock, John and Victor actually go?**  
Very good question. Did a portal take them to another planet, an alternate dimension or is there a sort of an inverted universe inside our home plane? Who knows!

 **What was it that rose out of the abyss?**  
I don't want to explain everything to death since (as we've learned from many horror films) once you show or name the thing, its horrifying effect gets a lot milder. I can, however, reveal that, with a probability of roughly 86,574%, the thing that rose out of the depths was none other than _Ialdagorth_ (cousin to the Blind Idiot God, Demon Sultan  & Nuclear Chaos that his pals usually call Azathoth).

 **What happened to Victor?**  
Victor's secret agenda was that as a final finger-flip to his father he wanted to crack the proverbial code, to reach whatever his father had been wanting to do, to prove his mettle and to do something grand with the life he felt he'd been wasting. With no preparation and not enough mental strenght he faced an Outer God, and was promptly destroyed. Poor lad. At least he paid the debt he felt he owed to Sherlock by helping John save him with the spell he read from the Necronomicon.

 **What would have happened if Sherlock had gone through with the ritual?**  
No human can possibly withstand the shock of realizing the true nature of the universe. _Probably_ not even Sherlock Holmes, and John sure wasn't going to let Sherlock test his chances. Most likely he would have lost control over his precious mind, if not worse.

 **Why didn't John go mad or lapse into a coma, too?**  
Our army doctor's mental powers are formidable (Sherlock really ought to give him more credit). He never looked at the thing and he was very focused on other, more important things at the time (such as Sherlock).

 **Which actor would play Victor if this was an episode?**  
James McAvoy, without a doubt. Just _look_ at the guy in _X-Men: First Class_.

 **If I wanted to read a bit of Lovecraft, where should I start?**  
These Cthulhu mythos stories are among my favourites (even though it's usually referred to as the Cthulhu Mythos, Cthulhu doesn't appear in very many of these stories - there are plenty of other fascinating Outer Gods and Great Old Ones to explore): _The Colour Out of Space, Shadow Over Innsmouth, At The Mountains of Madness, The Thing On The Doorstep, The Whisperer In Darkness, The Call of Cthulhu_ and _History of The Necronomicon_.

 **Where's Cthulhu?**  
I wanted to avoid the most clicheed and overused Lovecraft creations so Cthulhu does not appear in Fancy. He's still a very fun chap so I put him in the crackfic spinoff instead.

 **Are there any other Lovecraftian Sherlock stories?**  
Not a whole lot, but at least a few good ones. My favourite is miasmatrix's " _Unseen Terrors_ ". While it's not BBC Sherlock per se, I have to mention that Neil Gaiman has penned a Lovecraft/Holmes story called "A Study In Emerald".

 **Any chance of a sequel?**  
My AU stories don't tend to get follow-ups, but I've had to put my foot in my mouth enough times when it comes to sequels, that I'll just say never say never.


End file.
